Arizona Hires Goats to Clear Brush

Mesa, Arizona has decided that rather than whip out the weedwhackers and chainsaws, they're going to employ goats to do their thing and clear out 30 acres of brush around a wastewater treatment plant. From Mesa Arizona's government website:

The Utilities Department has approved a contract with Arizona Herdsman Eco Goats to clear the slopes of the water retention ponds for the next six months. On Jan. 5, the first ten of 80 goats were brought to their new grazing sight.

They chose the goats because they're a non-polluting alternative that'll eat up just about anything. This is precisely the reason why goats aren't eco-friendly at all when left on their own to roam about the countryside. In fact, they can be extremely damaging. But when used in a controlled situation like this, they're a pretty cool alternative to noisy, fossil-fuel chugging, emissions spewing landscaping machinery. In fact, they even reduce the need for pesticides.

They can clear vegetation from hard-to-reach places, and they'll eat the seeds that pesticides and mowing leave behind, preventing vegetation from coming back next year.

Mesa, Arizona has decided that rather than whip out the weedwhackers and chainsaws, they're going to employ goats to do their thing and clear out 30 acres of brush around a wastewater treatment plant. From Mesa Arizona's